Latch



June 5, 1923.

C. A. MASSOLL LATCH onglnal Filed May a Reissued June 5, 1923.

i UNITED STATES y Re. A15,619

PAT-ENT oFFICE.

oUBTIs A. Masson.,I or DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AssIGNon To JOHN A. WHITTAHER, or

DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

LATCHv original no. Lacasse, dated To dllwhom 'it concern: l, Be it known that I, CURTIs A. MAssoLL,

q citizen of the United States, residing atv description of the same, such as will enable others` skilled in the art to which vitpertains to make and use the same,"`reference being had to the accompanyin .;drawings, which form a part of this speci cation. h

Myvinvention relates to latches for use u Qnf'sO-called French doors, or upon casement windows, shown 1n the. accompanyino' drawin and morey particularly vdescribe v iii the ollowing specification and clalms.

is Well known that `doorsofftlle abovev type constructed as they are ahnost entirezo` ly of glass, mounted in a comparatively narrow supporting rame,`are` apt to become warped or bent, making it diicult to properly` close the door when requlred. It 1s therefore' one of the objects .of 'this inven- 25 tin to provide a latch orv locking means .adapted when manually operated to force the: door into the desired positionfr-or a ainst the rabbeted edge of the casing in wlliich it is hung, whereby if in warped or bent condition 1t may be straightened to provide a proper closure. j

It is 'also ywell known that doors ref quently sag after hanging to such en l extent that the latch `bolt will not register necessary to change the positibn of the latter that it may a ain registerwith the bolt. Therefore a ig-Luther.y objectfof the invention is to insure the bolt reglstering with the latch plate even though these parts may not be in the same relation tov each other as when originallyinstalled. y

With the foregoing and other objects vin view which will .appear as the description proceedsLthe invention resides in the combinationandarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes may be made inthe precise embodi- 50 ment of the invention herein disclosed withoutde arting 4from thespirit of the same. In e accompanying drawings: Y

Figure 1 is a fragmentary iront elevation of a door and its casing, showing the latch with the latch` receiving plate, making it l lled March 23, 1921. Serial No. 454,934.v i

in position, with parts removed to disclose the bolt operating mechanism.

Figure 2 is a similar view of a modification employing an upwardlyand a downwardly ldirected bolt, actuated by a single `operating lever.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view at right angles to Figure 2 vwith parts broken away, showing the double wedgeshaped endv of the Hoor engaging bolt.

Figure 4 is another modification, showing a mortise latchboltv having a tapering end to enter the bolt receiving plate.v

Haya, 1920, Serial No. 333.246, ined may s, 191s. Application :offremne v Figure 5 is an elevation of the bolt re.-v y ceiving plate shown in the preceding igure, provided' withv anti-friction rolls .or

balls, arranged in an annular formv for the entry of the bolt. l

Referring now tothe letters of reference placed upon'the' drawings: 1 A, denotes a door frame, B, the door casing. C, indicates a locking bolt,` secured by screws c, c, to the operating rod` C', in

turn connected withI the rack bar C2, housed within the enclosingl case D,the latter being -secured vto the stile `orside pieces of `the door. i

E, denotes a pinion in mesh with the rack bar C2, Aadapted to be manually actuated by an roperating lever E". The rack bar C2, 1s

recessed on.y its opposite side to4 receive a springvF, which'serves Ythe dual purpose of keepinf '-the`v teethv of the rack bar `in mesh with the pinion, and providing a yieldable drag upon the sidewall of the enclosing case D, to insure againstv the accidental rotation of the pinion due to the weight of the bar. C3, C3, are lugsprojecting from the barv toward the side wall of the case to prevent the bar from tilting at its lower end. The bolt C, is of an arc-sha ed wedge form designed to enter a keeper securedto the door frame provided with an anti-friction v roll G', against which the inclined or Wedges shapedv end of the bolt 1 is designed to bear upon entering the keeper, that lthe door may be forced into the designed position,'or into abutting contact with the rabbeted edge of the doorfcasing whereby any bent or warped condition o corrected.` AThe end of the bolt may be of lmaximum width for ashort distance as in` the door may be clicatedv at G, `so that if the door should l' sag, the action of the. tapering end of the portion off thebolts so that 3 0 their respective keepers.

" saggia Vof-ay door fitted with the d 'with bolt en bolt would still be fully e'ective to force the door upon closing to. a desired position. The oxtnsion of maximum width forms an enlarged or elongated head of greater thick- 5 ness the body of the bolt and the keepers are adapted to permit this extended movement of the bolts to force the door ywhen sagging or otherwise,inwardlyto the `full extent of the tapered or wedge-shaped the sagging of the door will have no eliect on the closing action of the tapered or wedge-shaped portions'of the bolts.y The enlarged elongated headsof the bolt-s form projecting lugs 'or 1,5 portions-at the vertical faces as clearly shown in'Figure -3- o the drawings.

enemployed upon double-swin ing lrdoors, or .upon doors not designed to c ose against `it'stile or` rabbeted casing,'double wedge-shaped bolts C, as shown in Figure 3 may be employed ;-the bolts entering a keeper Gr"I4 provided with two anti-triatlon -rell's Gf, 'g spacedA apart to receive them;`

It will be apparent that doors not designed to close against a rabbeted casingmay. be

thus securely held, and ifv bent or warped fmy be forced.` to a predetermined position through the action of the double wedgeshaped boltsV when manually forced into J Ifn the ilication' shown in Figures 4 and 5 the latch.. bolt is of the mortise type, its taperingl end enteringy a bolt receiving late preferably providedwith an annu- !ti' rin hcomprising lanti-friction rolls or that the y ordinary form o `latch bolt would throw the end of l It -wili' be; many understood 40 bolt out' of register with the hole in its receiving plate and thus prevent the operation of the bolt to lock the door. The tapering end of the bolt inthe present invention, however, insures its operation even though the bolt andy its receiving late: may-not be in'thefsame relation to eai other aswhen. ori* alynstalled.

't will be obvious that in placev of a relatively short head at the tapering end` of the bolt-as shown in the drawings-the face ofv th'e bolt over'which the keepers ride after leaving the tapering end may be on a uniform plane throughout.

It will also be apparent that if the installation does not require the employment of two simultaneouslyactuated bolts, one of the i .bolts may be eliminated;

Having thu-s described my invention what I'claimis:

y1. In a device of the class described, keepers loc'aed aty the top and bottom of the framework and provided atV the outer sides gaging means, ay vertically movable bolt carried by the door and provided with a tapering-- end presenting an inclined face to the bolt engaging means of the keepers for forcing the door inwagndly to its closed position, said bolt havinga face parallel with the side of the door extendin fromthe tapered portion and slidable over the bolt engaging means as the door is forced inwardly by the inclined end of the bolt, before the bolt has reached its limit of motion, thebolt engaging means of the keeper being arranged to permit an extended movement of the bolt whereby any sagging of the door will be prevented from diminishingV theeffectiveness of the tapered end vof the bolt position, and. manually operated means for side of the door extending fromthe tapered. portion.` and slidable over the bolt engagingy means as the door-is forced inwardly byghe inclined. ends of the bolts lbefore the. have reached.y their limitv of motion, the bolt engaging means of the keepers being ar.-

ranged to permit an extended movementof' the bolts whereby any sagging. of the door will be prevented from diminishing the effectiveness/of the tapered endsv of the bolts when forcing the door tightly to its closed position, and manually.. operated means for simultaneously actuating said bolts in 0pposite directions. v.

3. Ina device ofthe class described, keepers located at the top and bottom. of'a door casing and `provided at the outer sides with bolt engaging. means, vertically movable bolts mounted onthe door and provided at their outer ends with tapering. heads presenting. inclined outer faces to the bolt engagingmeans of, the keepers for forcing the. door inwardly toits closed position, Said heads having inclined faces. with, viertioal faces extending from said. tapering portions and slidable over the bolt.,engaging` means.V

as-the door has beenforced inwardly by the said inclined. faces of the-bolts, the vertical faces being of suilcientlength to contact with thel bolt engaging means of the keeper before the bolts are entirely extended, the

boltl engaging ymeans of. the keepers vbeing);

arranged to permit an extended` movement of'` the boltsl whereby any sagging-, of the door will beprevented from diminishing the, effectiveness of. the tapered.V portions of the heads of the bolts in forcing, the doorlv tightly to its closedv position.

4. In a device ofthe classdescribed, keepers located at the top andv bottom of"`a door 1o ugs 'casing and provided at the outer sides with bolt engagin means, vertically movable bolts mounts on the door and provided at their outerv ends withtapering headspre- 5 senting inclined outer faces to the bolt engingy means of the keepers for forcing the oor inwardly to its closed position, said heads being of greater width than the body ortion of the bolts and forming projecting and provided at the yinner ends of the inclined faces with vertical faces extending from the said tapered portions and slidable over the bolt engaging means as the door has been forced inwardly by the said inclined faces of the bolts, the bolt engaging means of the keepers being arranged to permit an extended movement of the bolts whereby any sagging of the door will be prevented from ydiminishing the effectiveness of the ta red portions of the heads of the bolts in orcing the door tightly to its closed position.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification inthe presence of two witnesses.

Witn:

S. E. THOMAS, Mannion WOLF'.

CURTIS A. MAssoLL. y 

